Olaf Haraldsson, the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and a Norse Penny in North America

Contemplating a Norwegian silver penny of Olaf Haraldsson (king of Norway 1067-1093, also known as Olav Kyrre), some vivid associations came to mind. The first was the 1066 battle of Stamford Bridge near York and the end of the Viking Age (Olaf was there). The second was the presence of another silver penny of Olaf Haraldsson at a Native American archaeological site in Maine, USA. Then there is the larger context of Norse colonies on Greenland and the voyages to the coast of eastern North America from around a thousand years ago to the 14th century. And finally, the medieval runestones encountered during a spell living in Stavanger at the end of the 1990s. Stavanger's cathedral is Norway's oldest, begun shortly after the death of Olaf (and there's also an Olav Kyrres Gate in Stavanger). A handsome 11th century penny of Olaf Haraldsson (Olav Kyrre), in as-struck condition (author's collection). This is close to TabIII:19 in Schive (1865) and Plate I:11 in Stenersen...